by Ciara Graves
“It is,” I agreed. “What have you been up to?”
“Working sadly, but now I’m all yours. Thought you’d be happy to hear it.”
“I am.” My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much, but I had to keep up the pretense that I enjoyed being with him.
“Where’s Roger tonight?”
“Not sure. Think he went to some of the events on his own.”
“Is that so?” We came to a stop at the end of a path, far away from the hotel doors. “You sure he wasn’t sneaking around the cages in the basement?”
The last word was barely out of his mouth when I grabbed his arm hard and whirled him around, slamming him into the nearest wall.
I reached for my gun, but he recovered too fast and rammed his elbow into my face.
He wrapped his arm around my waist, crushing me to his body as he cackled. It was like he was getting a kick out of this. His hand found the gun at my back and then he headbutted me.
“Let’s see what you really look like.” He grabbed the amulet and tore it free. “Well, well, so it’s true. Mercy the bounty hunter, as I live and breathe. You know, you’ve taken down some of my friends in the past.”
I willed my power to manifest and light this bastard on fire, but it sputtered then went out. Figures. Luckily that wasn’t my only option.
“Good, now it’s your turn.” I jammed my knee into his groin.
He grunted as I scrabbled for the gun. My hands closed around it, but he twisted my wrist, and it fell from my numb fingers. He kicked it away for good measure then decked me. This time when I brought my fist up, it was encased in white and gold flames. About damned time. I struck him in the gut then followed it up with a hit to the face. I was more than ready to keep beating him until he told me where Rafael was when a panicked yelp came from behind me.
“Stop, or I’ll kill her.”
“Maggie?” Val asked, confused, shaking in the hands of a hybrid dragonborn. “What… I don’t understand.” She cried out in pain when the hybrid dug his claws into her shoulder.
“Enough, or she’s dead,” the hybrid repeated.
The flames spread up my arms, more than ready to take on this challenge, when something heavy bashed into the back of my head.
Val yelled as my knees hit the ground hard.
A second hit sent me tumbling into darkness.
I groaned, hearing voices around me. A few of them were familiar, but I couldn’t place them. Why the hell did my head hurt so bad? Something was crusted on my face, and the ground was hard beneath me, hard and cold. I pushed up to my knees and elbows, opening my eyes wide as I could, only to find blood stains beneath my hands.
“Looks like she’s awake. Get the contenders ready. And our guest of honor, of course.”
Morris, that rat bastard. I was going to beat him into a bloody pulp as soon as I could see straight again. I shook my head, but that was a mistake. I managed to turn to the side as I vomited. Concussion, I figured. How hard had they hit me?
“You sure she’s going to be up for a fight?” That was voice I did not know.
“She better be. She’s the main event tonight.” Something hard struck metal, and I cringed, the sound echoing painfully in my skull. “Hey, you alive still or what?”
I flipped him off, but all that did was make him laugh. Slowly, I lifted my head, then wished I hadn’t. The cage. I was lying in the center of the damned cage. The stands were empty except for a few individuals that I knew were hybrids.
Their power pulsed around me, making my scar itch.
Morris stood in front of me, holding my gun in his hand. He smashed it against the bars again.
I considered throwing up on his shoes but didn’t get over there in time. I wiped my mouth on my arm, spitting at the awful taste lingering in my mouth. Carefully, I reached behind my head to find a bump and dried blood in my hair.
“Thanks, asshole,” I snapped, sitting up on my knees.
“You know, for being Mercy the famed bounty hunter, you don’t seem all that impressive.”
“Why don’t you step inside the cage and we can go a few rounds? I’m sure I can change your mind.”
Temptation crossed his face, but then he shrugged, and it was gone.
“Not tonight. I do have plans to stick around and watch the show.”
“What show?”
He leered, pressing his face against the bars. “The one you’re starring in. You should feel privileged really. The demise of Mercy, the bounty hunter. I hope it’s not over too soon. I’d like to enjoy my date night.”
“Date night? You’re kidding, right?” I glanced around the outside of the cage, but I couldn’t see past the first few rows of seats.
“I made a deal you see. I bring you to him, and I get a prize. Would you like to see it?”
“Only if it’s me kicking your ass.”
“Well, you’re going to see it anyway,” he said as if I hadn’t spoken at all. “Bring her to me.”
I worked on breathing and waiting for the dizziness to go away.
A door opened, and chains dragged across the floor.
Two hybrids guided a third person between them. They turned her toward the cage.
I shouted in rage, throwing myself at the bars. My stomach revolted from the sudden movement, but I held back the vomit.
“You bastard, let her go.”
Gigi’s eyes widened, and she reached for me with her manacled hands.
Morris placed his arm around her waist and dragged her back into his chest. The fear in her eyes tore at me, and I shook the bars, willing my magic to kick in and kill him on the spot, but there were no breathtaking flames. No fire. Nothing.
“He wanted you badly enough he was willing to part with her. Such beauty for a white witch.” Morris trailed his fingers down Gigi’s cheek. She flinched away, but he grabbed her chin in his hand and sighed. “You’ll learn your place soon enough. But first, it’s time for a show. What do you say, pet?”
Gigi muttered through a gag, but her words were too muffled to understand. The manacles around her wrists bound her magic. I shook the bars again as Morris maneuvered her to front row seats then sat her down. He kept his arm possessively around her shoulders, sneering at me as he lifted a lock of her hair and smelled it.
“You’re going to wish you’d never been born when I get out of here,” I warned. “I’m going to tear you apart piece by piece.”
“Such violence and anger in you, Mercy. I think it’s time we let you express those emotions.” That voice. Envy.
Envy couldn’t be here. He wasn’t.
Gripping the bars of the cage until my knuckles hurt, I followed the sound of his voice and approaching steps. His smile was straight up evil, and when he reached into the cage for me, I backed off, not about to let him touch me. The stinging that started in my scar turned into full-blown agony. I bit my cheek to stop from reacting, not about to let him see me in pain.
His green eyes shimmered with glee at whatever plan he’d concocted. “Now then, my mistress is not too pleased with you disrupting her plans. Time to teach you a lesson. If you survive the night, she’ll forgive you. If not, well, then, there’s one less person we have to worry about. Sounds fair, don’t you agree?”
The cage was empty, but the door leading to the room with the cages was wide open. I didn’t dare move to it yet, not wanting to see what was about to come charging at me. “I won’t kill innocents.”
“Yes, I thought as much. Let’s make this more interesting, shall we? Wouldn’t you like to see your surprise guest?” He clapped his hands twice and spotlights popped on.
Val stood at the back of the room, a hybrid holding a dagger to her throat. Tears flowed from her eyes in a steady stream as she quietly pleaded to be released.
“Don’t worry. She’s not who I’m talking about.” Envy clapped his hands again, and the lights for the stage lit up.
“Rafael?”
He strained against the chains holding him to
the same chair Shuval occupied a couple nights ago. The gag prevented him from talking, but he yelled all the same. From the blood around his wrists, he’d been trying to get free for a while now.
Envy laughed like a kid as he bounced up the rows of bleachers and landed on the stage. He walked around Rafael.
“Don’t you touch him,” I shouted as I charged the bars again, but he snapped his fingers, and a green shield illuminated, throwing me backward.
He clicked his tongue, wagging his finger at me. “Now, now, no need for that.”
“Let him go,” I begged. “Let him and the girl go. And Gigi. Shuval can have me then, alright? Just let them go.”
Envy tapped his chin as if he was seriously considering my offer, but I knew he wasn’t. “Interesting how much you care for this wretch.” He smacked Rafael.
Rafael’s hands curled into fists, and he lunged against the chains to get to Envy, but they held.
“Not interesting at all. Let him go. He has nothing to do with this.”
“Doesn’t he now? Tell me, Mercy, does he know your secret? I wonder what he’d do with the truth.” He looked beyond pleased with himself as if he was about to reveal something massive that would ruin my life.
I forced a laugh that turned real at the insanity of our situation.
Envy glowered as he stomped back down the bleachers and stood outside the cage.
“Yeah, that ship sailed, dumbass. He knows.”
Envy sniffed, annoyed, and squared his shoulders. “No matter. He’s going to watch you fight and probably die all the same. Then he’ll join you. As will the girl. Do you have any last words? Any at all?”
“She’s not going to win.”
“My dear, she’s been winning since the night she murdered your parents.” He snapped his fingers, and a whip of pure green energy latched around my neck.
I tugged at it, but that only made it worse until I was gasping for air.
Rafael’s bellows of fury sounded far away, and black spots filled my vision.
“I know you and your friends seek the artifacts. The longer you keep them from her, the more of you will die. Is that what you want?”
I spit at him, and the whip tightened so much that when I came to, I was back on the cement floor.
Rafael yelled and shouted, managing to get the gag off his mouth. “Mercy! Wake up, Mercy. Get up and fight!”
Fight? What was he talking about? I couldn’t get to Envy?
“Mercy, behind you!”
I spun around in time to catch a fist to the face. My back slammed into the bars, and I ducked as a second hit was headed toward my nose. The vampire hissed and threw himself at me. I hadn’t planned on fighting anyone, but there was nothing but bloodlust in this vamp’s eyes. He was shirtless, his chest and arms bearing scars that had taken months, years of torture at the hands of his captors. I reached for my daggers, but they weren’t there. I was on my own.
“Come now, Mercy,” Envy yelled.
I caught hold of the vampire’s fist and flipped him over me, but the move took more out of me than I expected, and I sank to my knees.
“Where’s that powerful mage magic you possess? Surely you can give us all a good show?”
My power was currently dormant. There was no flicker of heat anywhere in my body, and it wasn’t like the vampire was going to let me call a timeout to get myself into a meditative state of mind. I had no weapons, no easy way to kill the bloodsucker’s snapping fangs that came closer to my neck with every attack. Rafael’s yells fell away until it was just me and the vampire facing off. I ignored Envy’s jabs and focused only on what was in front of me. A weapon. I needed a freaking weapon.
A stool sat in the corner of the cage. It would have to do.
The vampire threw himself at me again, I misjudged his speed and went down in a sprawling heap. He slammed me into the floor as I pushed against his face. Saliva dripped from his mouth, those fangs ready to pierce my neck and drain me dry.
That was not going to happen. Not tonight.
Digging deep, I bellowed as I got a boot under his gut and threw him over my head.
He rolled into the bars.
I raced for the stool. Not wasting time, I bashed it against the cage until a leg broke off.
The vampire hissed in fury and blurred into me.
I turned.
The stake plunged deep into his chest, and his body went limp. Dead. I yanked the stake free and shoved the dead vampire away from me.
“That all you got?”
The second Envy grinned, I wanted to kick myself for taunting him.
From the look on Rafael’s face, so did he.
“Not even close.” Envy clapped his hands.
I rushed to pick up another stool leg.
Two figures entered the cage.
I hung my head. Sticks weren’t going to do a damned thing against shifters. They threw back their heads and howled, then shifted into ferocious wolves.
“Wait,” Envy yelled as they made ready to charge. “Let’s make this more interesting, shall we?” He waved to the hybrid holding Val and to my horror they dragged her closer to the cage. She screamed, begged him to leave her be, but the hybrid slashed his blade down her arm, spilling blood.
Envy’s magic wrapped around her in a green haze then she shimmered into the cage beside me. “There, that’s better. Carry on.”
“Mercy,” Val whispered, “I can’t fight.”
“Get behind me, and you stay there, understand?” I hefted the stool legs in my hands, watching the shifters come in closer.
Val whimpered behind me.
I found my gaze pulled to Gigi, beyond the bars.
Morris had a firm hold on her hands, his other running endlessly through her hair.
Rafael shouted for me again.
Our eyes met.
I didn’t want him to see this, but as soon as that thought struck me, a warmth grew in my gut.
Fire.
My fire.
It was still here after all.
Too bad there wasn’t time to pull on it.
The shifters growled then lunged our way.
Chapter 13
Rafael
Mercy disappeared beneath a pile of fur and claws.
Blood oozed down my hands where the chains cut into my skin.
The witch in the cage with Mercy shrieked.
One shifter smashed into the bars of the cage. He slid down.
The other squared off against Mercy.
There’d been a flicker of white flames in Mercy’s gaze seconds before they charged, but there was no hint of it now. She opened her eyes wide. as if struggling to stay conscious, holding her right arm at an odd angle. Her jacket was torn, and blood dripped off her fingertips, adding to the stains at her feet.
The shifter swiped at her face and the stool leg she had as her only weapon broke into pieces.
She yelped as her head flew back.
“Mercy!”
Envy cackled in delight from the chair beside me. “Revenge is such a sweet thing.”
I gnashed my teeth at him, my demon rage more than ready to break free, but these damned enchanted chains kept me held down. Mercy was going to die, and I couldn’t stop it.
When she straightened, her face was covered in blood and fresh claw marks. The second shifter was getting up now, and they both circled her, struggling to keep the witch safe behind her. I had no idea who she was, but Mercy seemed intent on keeping her alive. The shifters attacked as one and she vanished beneath their furred bodies again. The witch’s cry cut off and then there was nothing but silence.
“No,” I breathed as my heart plummeted. “Mercy.”
Envy scooted to the edge of his chair, eagerly waiting to see the shifters move aside.
They remained where they were though.
He frowned. “What’s going on in there? Where is she?”
She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t.
Envy was on his feet moving toward the
cage when the chains around my wrists grew burning hot. I winced but stopped myself from yelling in panic. The manacles weakened enough for me to easily break them.
There was no sign of Mercy yet. My gaze roamed over the room and I caught the tail end of a person ducking back into the room with the cages. Sycamore? How had he gotten down here without being caught? Not that I was going to argue if he’d been the one who freed me.
“I said, where is she?” Envy raged.
I moved my hands, and the chains broke apart. Just a few more inches and I’d be free to tackle Envy.
I was about to stand when several hybrids rushed passed me. I froze, but they paid no attention to me, sprinting to the cage instead.
The shifter’s bodies moved, and Envy held up his hand, yelling for silence.
I craned my neck to see around them when a burst of white fire shot up from the shifters’ bodies, launching them into the top of the cage. They crashed back down.
Mercy stood in the center.
Mercy’s eyes were alive with fire as golden white flames crawled up her arms.
Envy started to clap.
Mercy threw her arms to the side, flames shot out, breaking through whatever enchantment he placed on the cage.
The hybrids and Envy struggled to get back as Mercy’s hands curled into fists and the metal bars twisted and groaned from the pressure.
The entire cage shifted, breaking free of the cement that held it in place.
When Mercy’s hands opened, the broken bars shot out, running hybrids through left and right. They screamed as they died, massive rods of iron driven through their bodies.
Envy caught the one aimed for his chest, but not completely in time. With a shriek, he tugged on one. The tip that pierced his skin. He chucked it aside, staring in awe and anger at Mercy.
I counted off the seconds they stared each other down, waiting for Mercy to keep up the attack, but as fast as the flames appeared, they vanished in a puff of smoke.
She collapsed to the floor, curling in on herself.
